Bruce A Restart Fourth Amendment

Bruce Power and the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) have reached an agreement to amend the Bruce Power Refurbishment Implementation Agreement (BPRIA) to ensure Ontario ratepayers will continue to be supplied with low-cost electricity from the Bruce B units to the end of the decade, prior to the full refurbishment of the units.

The amendment involves an extension of the floor price for the Bruce B units, which remains the lowest cost generator under contract by the OPA at 5.2 cents per kilowatt-hour. Bruce B provides 15 per cent of Ontario’s electricity demand on an annual basis.

Throughout 2013, Bruce Power will continue to invest in Bruce B with an estimated $250 million expected this year to continue to optimize the life of the units, ensuring both system reliability and price stability. Over the next five years, Bruce Power’s planned investment program in Bruce B will be approximately $1.1 billion. In addition to the base employment on the Bruce Power site, which is 4,000 people, this ongoing capital program will create approximately 500-600 temporary jobs annually in support of these investment activities.

This amendment does not change the price of the Bruce B floor nor does it impact the current arrangement in place for 3,000 megawatts of output from Bruce A. Bruce Power continues to assume all operational and investment risk related to the ongoing operation of Bruce B.

Bruce Power and the OPA will continue to work together to secure an important source of cost-effective and clean electricity for Ontario ratepayers through the long-term supply of 6,300 MW from the Bruce Power site.

Over the last 11 years, Bruce Power has invested $7 billion in the life extension and refurbishment of all eight units. This increased output from the Bruce Power site is a key component to keeping electricity costs low for our families and businesses and supporting the phase-out of coal by the end of 2013.

OPA statement on Bruce Power Contract Amendment April 2013

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The Ontario Power Authority has completed a contract amendment to the Bruce Power Refurbishment Implementation Agreement (BPRIA). The amendment secures a cost-effective source of electricity to the end of the decade and is the first step in a commercial agreement to secure 6,300 MW at the Bruce site for the long-term.

Since 2005, Bruce Power has invested about $1 billion in its four Bruce B units and, over the next five years, plans to invest an additional $1.1 billion. These investments are extending the operational lives of the units from the original end of life dates between 2016 and 2019 to between 2019 and 2020. Bruce Power will continue to receive the floor price set out in the BPRIA, currently at 5.2 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is the lowest cost generation under contract with the OPA.

This amendment provides significant financial benefit to Ontario ratepayers by securing 15% of Ontario’s annual electricity supply from Bruce B, which is reliable, low cost and low emission baseload power to 2020, a time period when some Bruce and Darlington nuclear units are expected to be offline for refurbishing. The OPA continues to work with nuclear operators to develop a co-ordinated schedule for the 10 remaining refurbishments to secure the output at these two sites for the long-term.

Generation from the Bruce site is an important component of the government’s plan to eliminate coal-fired generation in southern Ontario by the end of 2013. The planned investments in Bruce B units will create between 500 and 600 temporary jobs annually for skilled tradespeople.